Initially, Yan Xixi planned to directly stand the boy up. But on second thought, she had already told the boy which school she attended. If she didn't show up this time, would he come looking for her at the school later?

Seeing that she hadn't replied for a long time, the boy sent her a voice call request.

Yan Xixi hurriedly hit reject, then made up some excuse to brush him off.

In the chaos, she didn't even remember what exactly she was thinking at the time. As if possessed, she went over to her neighbor girlfriend Xu Xi's house, saying that she had made plans to meet an online friend but didn't want to go anymore, and asked her to go on the date in her place to explain the situation, lest it be awkward when she met the person later.

Xu Xi was a very gentle and accommodating person. Yan Xixi had a somewhat spoiled personality, and Xu Xi had always indulged her. This time was no exception. Although Xu Xi was a bit hesitant at first, she still agreed after Yan Xixi's repeated pleading.

Then, after Xu Xi went on that date, she never came back.

Xu Xi's parents reported it to the police, but the police investigated her call records and social circle without finding anything unusual. Xu Xi had just gone out once and then vanished into thin air.

The police also came to ask Yan Xixi, the last person to see Xu Xi before her disappearance. But out of fear of retaliation, she didn't tell the police about the online friend.

So in the end, unable to find any clues, the case just fizzled out like that... Yan Xixi was immersed in her memories when suddenly a gust of wind blew by, and a white jasmine petal floated past her cheek. For some reason, the supposedly soft petal actually cut her face, causing a slight pain. She shivered and abruptly snapped back to reality.

Strange, why did she suddenly think of these things again?

Reaching up to wipe her face, she saw the glaring red blood on her fingertips. The image of that bloody, mangled rabbit flashed before her eyes again, and her heart rate suddenly quickened.

The bizarre feeling in her heart grew heavier. She hastily pulled out a tissue to wipe the blood from her fingertips and stood up, wanting to leave this place.

In her haste, she didn't watch where she was going. As she turned a corner, she accidentally bumped into a couple embracing under a tree.

Yan Xixi was about to apologize, but then the couple turned their heads at the same time...

Upon seeing their faces clearly, she couldn't help but scream!

The petite girl had a face identical to Xu Xi's, tilting her head to look at her with the same gentle and indulgent smile as the Xu Xi in her memories. But the man's face... was a bloody, mangled rabbit face, exactly the same as the dissected rabbit in the image in her mind!

Yan Xixi was so frightened by the scene before her that she completely lost the ability to think. She turned and ran away without looking back.

After running for who knows how long, Yan Xixi finally felt her strength giving out. Exhausted, she stopped, leaning on her knees and gasping for breath.

She only closed her eyes for a few seconds, but when she looked up, she had somehow returned to the original long bench, facing a familiar lake with fine jasmine petals floating on it.

The small cut on her face from the petal seemed to have widened during her intense running. As she gasped for breath, blood trickled down her cheek to her chin, finally dripping to the ground and seeping into the black soil, staining a patch of it dark red.

However, Yan Xixi had no energy to worry about her face at this moment. She stared intently at the lake surface, almost stopping breathing, her chest aching from the lack of oxygen.

The originally mirror-like calm lake water had started rippling at some point. A slender, pale arm reached out from the water, grasping the mud on the shore, slowly crawling up until fully emerging.

It was Xu Xi!

She was still wearing their high school uniform, exactly the same as when she was alive...

Xu Xi was also very beautiful in appearance. Even though her long hair was wet and her face pale at this moment, one could not ignore her gentle and refined features. The lake water dampening her clothes only accentuated her soft, graceful curves, making it hard to look away.

But faced with such a beauty, Yan Xixi's heart held only fear. She tremblingly gripped the talisman she had sought from Taoist Master Fu, said to be able to deal with evil beings, slowly backing away.

However, Xu Xi seemed completely unaffected by the talisman. After crawling out of the lake, she walked towards her slowly but firmly, step by step, leaving a long trail of water extending behind her.

In a daze, Yan Xixi seemed to be able to feel the fishy water vapor lingering at the tip of her nose.

Seeing that Xu Xi was about to reach her, Yan Xixi panicked and threw the talisman forcefully at Xu Xi.

But the small triangular yellow talisman passed right through Xu Xi's body and fell on the lake-soaked mud. Dampened by the water, it visibly disintegrated into a soft, ordinary yellow paper that was torn into several pieces by the wind.

Xu Xi's steps did not stop. She even smiled slightly at her, the smile as sweet as when she was embracing the rabbit-headed man under the tree just now.

Yan Xixi had nowhere to retreat. She was finally tripped by the bench behind her and accidentally fell to the ground!

The wind suddenly picked up, and jasmine petals surged over from who knows where, like a blooming season that could never be defeated.

She sat on the ground in despair, watching Xu Xi get closer and closer to her.

Xu Xi's hair and clothes were covered in those pure white and fragile little flowers, looking not like a vengeful ghost, but more like a fairy walking out of a sea of flowers.

Large tears welled up in Yan Xixi's eyes. In a breakdown, she finally pleaded, "Ah Xi, I was wrong, please-"

Her voice cut off abruptly, because... a wet, slippery hand had touched her right cheek, which was covered in blood.

At this moment, no one noticed a small, faintly glowing slender object floating out from the hem of Xu Xi's drenched clothes. Carried by the wind, it passed through the myriad jasmine petals in the air and landed in a pale, bony hand.

In the classroom, He Yan was expressionlessly taking notes when he suddenly sensed something. He paused, quickly packing everything into his backpack.

The wisp of spiritual power he had left on the female ghost had been hijacked!

His deskmate beside him saw his actions and asked in a low voice, looking completely baffled, "Where are you going?"

He Yan did not answer his question. He directly crouched down and nimbly slipped out of the back door of the classroom, taking advantage of sitting in the last row.

Running non-stop to the small woods, He Yan almost immediately and keenly discovered the existence of a barrier in the vicinity.

So he didn't act rashly. Tugging on his backpack strap, he cautiously made his way through the sea of flowers, controlling his thin threads of spiritual power to prevent those seemingly harmless petals from approaching him.

Following the sensing of his spiritual power, He Yan finally found his target.

It was a tall man. He Yan estimated his height to be close to two meters. He was standing under a bizarrely thick jasmine tree. Through the chaotic petals floating in the air, He Yan saw his appearance clearly at a glance.

It was a face without the slightest flaw or blemish. Among all the people He Yan had seen across three lifetimes, he could not find a more perfect face.

His expression was indifferent. A swordlike eyebrow slanted into his temple. The black hair on his forehead was all swept back, revealing a bright and full forehead, but a few strands of hair casually fell down, flirtatiously landing on his forehead and cheeks.

Further down, his pupils were a pure black without a glimmer of light, so deep that they seemed to carry all things in the world. But upon closer inspection, no traces of anything could be found within them. The man had pale skin and thin lips, a look of heartlessness. He was broad-shouldered and long-legged, wearing a well-tailored black suit, but without a tie. The second button from the top of his shirt was fastened, revealing a small patch of chest that was even fairer than the white shirt underneath.

The wind suddenly grew stronger, slightly lifting the loose strands of hair on the man's forehead.

The fluttering petals filling the sky all fell from the ancient tree behind the man, its age countless. But they all avoided the spot where the man stood, as if not daring to desecrate him, with not a single petal attempting to land on the hem of his clothing.

After a moment of stunned silence, He Yan frowned and moved his gaze away from the man's face, looking downward.

In the man's raised palm lay a thin, white thread, emitting a faint glow and occasionally writhing weakly.

—It was the thread of spiritual power he had left on Xu Xi's body.

As if sensing someone approaching, the man's originally unfocused eyes suddenly moved, meeting He Yan's gaze directly.